City restos red carpet-ready before first big festival weekend
Times of India | 21 September 2025Free drinks and specially curated dishes were on offer, with some planning to deck up with India flags during the Pakistan match on Sunday night, which could be a heated affair after the ‘no handshake' controversy.
Most restaurants witnessed a 20% footfall surge last weekend, which soared to 30% above the normal mark on Friday and Saturday nights — the second last pre-puja weekend.
Sudesh Poddar, owner of Songhai, Manthan, and MS Bar & Lounge in central Kolkata said, "There's a huge rush this weekend since shoppers are eager to wind up with a family meal at restaurants.
There's a 30% surge in footfall compared to last year's pre-puja period. Footfall has been steadily climbing, and they remained very high on Saturday, while Sunday could be big due to the Indo-Pak match, which will be an added attraction following the ‘no-handshake controversy'.
We had a full house on Friday and Saturday and expect high footfalls till the end of the pujas."
Outlets of Specialty Restaurants, including Mainland China, Flame & Grill, Café Mezzuna, Haka, and Oh! Calcutta, saw a major surge in delivery orders during last Sunday's Indo-Pak match.
"It could be the same this Sunday, even as we expect the footfall to rise this weekend, especially at the shopping mall outlets. Shopping has been slow this time due to a shift to online buying. But as it picks up, our footfall should rise along with deliveries," said Specialty Restaurants founder and MD Anjan Chatterjee.
Park Street, too, is shifting into the festive spirit. "This weekend saw a spurt that may continue till Diwali.
There has been a gradual swell in our waiting crowd, and weekends generally see a full house at our outlets. As shopping peaks, the dining crowd will rise, too," said Nitin Kothari, owner of Peter Cat and Mocambo.
Oudh 1590 and Chapter 2 experienced a surge in both footfall and online orders on Friday night. "This weekend will give us an indication of the puja crowd, and we can already see a surge. The Indo-Pak match on Sunday should raise footfall at Chapter 2, where we have screens, while online orders are set to double at both Oudh and Chapter 2," said owner and co-founder Shiladitya Chaudhury.
Songhai and MS Bar & Lounge will offer a free drink with every six hit by India on Sunday. "We have also been serving Bumrah fried chicken and Gill grilled fish since last week, in addition to our regular Chinese and North Indian dishes."
